The Nantahala River

When I was growing up, our family would raft on this river in North Carolina. It's a Class 3 so is pretty mild. It's slow enough that you can enjoy the surrounding scenery but rough enough not to be boring.

At the end of the ride, there's a six foot drop off that was loads of fun to go over. Now they make you get out earlier. Spoilsports!

Earlier this summer when I was at the John C. Campbell Folk School taking a digital photography class, we took a day trip to Asheville to photograph the city. On the way back we went through the Nantahala Gorge and just had to stop and take pictures of the mist rising off the river.

Since my photo taking skills had risen a lot during the week, I was able to get these photos when the night was almost completely dark. I was in full manual mode so was able to let in a lot more light. I turned my ISO up to 1600 and rested the camera on the handrail to avoid camera shake. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

My photo-savvy friends kept telling me that when I went manual it would open up a whole new world. They were right. Thanks, Jenny and Charlotte.